Berlin Leads Europe's Rebuke of Russia as Merz Slips at Home

Germany put itself at the front of Europe's response to Russia's threat against Kyiv. The Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's ambassador, declaring it "will not be intimidated by threats and will continue to support Ukraine wholeheartedly" and listing hospitals, schools and TV studios among the weekend's targets. The German embassy in Kyiv said it would keep operating -- "on Ukraine's side" -- and Berlin's move was matched the same day by the EU, Norway and the Netherlands, with EU spokeswoman Anitta Hipper calling in Moscow's charge d'affaires over an "unacceptable escalation." At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned" by Russia's plan for "consistent and systemic strikes," and Ukraine's envoy Andriy Melnyk read a joint statement from 50 countries; the protests followed a weekend in which Moscow fired more than 80 missiles at Kyiv, injuring 87 people.

The escalation framed a broader display of European resolve. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared with the three Baltic presidents in Vilnius to warn of a "deliberate strategy" by Russia to destabilise democratic societies, and NATO agreed to assign the German-Netherlands Corps to the defence of Latvia and Estonia. Jurgen Hardt, the CDU/CSU foreign-policy spokesman, called Putin a "wounded predator" whose strategy had collapsed after eight years of failed Normandy-format talks, and argued Ukraine could now seize the initiative on parts of the front.

Domestic policy ran on a separate track. Health Minister Nina Warken drafted a bill, reported by the media group RND, that would raise elder-care insurance contributions for childfree adults over 23 by 0.7 percentage points, to 2.5 percent of monthly income, to ease the strain of an ageing population; she has not yet brought it to cabinet. The proposal landed as Chancellor Friedrich Merz's authority frayed: Bild reported on Tuesday that figures in his party were discussing a possible successor, with the chancellor's approval at a record-low 15 percent and the far-right AfD polling around 29 percent, ahead of the CDU.